Regardless of industry or size, every organisation needs market research to keep up with the competition. It is a time-consuming process that employees need to focus on though. They need to know what to look for and use proper techniques else they’ll end up scouring the web aimlessly.

Hiring someone to research full-time isn’t an affordable option, however, especially for a small enterprise. Not only do you have to pay them a regular salary but also you have to arrange provisions like medical benefits, office equipment, and insurances.

Modern-day companies have realised the benefits of outsourcing the job to a virtual researcher.

Why outsource to a virtual assistant for market research

Research is an integral part of helping your business grow and progress. This includes determining important leads, searching for prospective partners, asking for customer opinions, or discovering potential customers. It’s a skill but you might not possess it in abundance.

If you’re good at it, an onboarding document may be all you need to outsource the work to a VA. It outlines the steps you normally take to conduct your research, so the VA may refer to it when doing their own.

If you find yourself lacking in these so-called research skills, you may rely on their expertise to tap into tools and resources. Other great reasons to outsource market research assistance are:

They save you time

Many people are under the assumption that you’re only able to delegate recurring tasks to a VA while you focus on the core activities of your business. While this isn’t wrong, remote assistants are capable of performing a wide range of tasks, including market or product research.

Using a virtual assistant for market research saves you time as they know how to search information more efficiently. They provide you with the details you’re looking for within the time frame you have set. This is particularly true for those with direct experience in research.

They know the right tools

A market researcher works with available tools to mine the data you need. There are various types of software tailored to different kinds of research you want to conduct, be it competitor analysis, product research, brand analysis, or audience research.

Using online tools is a practical research technique in itself, but it’s not something you master quickly. It takes time to familiarize with the interface of each tool and to know how to use the various features and functionalities offered.

They give accurate information

A virtual researcher is often meticulous and detail-oriented. Whatever topic or subject you ask them to find, they will use whatever techniques and methods they know to deliver the data you need. They aim to give you reliable information and present it to you as clearly and concisely as possible.

Also, they ensure that the data is easy to access in case you need it at a later time. This often means that they’ll save it on cloud or on any other secure server. They understand the importance of keeping the info private too.

They reuse available data

This doesn’t mean that they merely copy and paste information they find on the internet. Rather, they’re aware that you need reliable and relevant content to maintain your online presence and keep your audience engaged.

Therefore, they will reuse the info they have gathered and turn them into images, infographics, blog posts, or even podcast scripts. Market research assistance has them looking up products and competitors so you have fresh inspiration for your own brand.

Why a virtual assistant for market research in particular

One thing that most companies have in common is the need to know their markets. No matter what you’re trying to sell or offer, it helps to know how to conduct research into your specific audience.

Getting a market researcher to help is an excellent use of resource considering the amount of time this type of online research requires. Here are a few of the tasks they may perform:

Running Google Analytics

Google Analytics is useful for tracking web activity, such as who is visiting your site, where they’re accessing it from, and why they are visiting. You may get the VA to set this up for your website as well as interpret the data so you might adjust your marketing strategy accordingly.

Conducting surveys

Tools like SoGo Survey and Typeform are great but only if you know how to use them. Hiring a market researcher with survey experience enables you to implement surveys. In this manner, you gather insights from your customers that you otherwise wouldn’t get.

Running A/B tests

Consult with a virtual assistant for market research through A/B testing. For example, testing 2 versions of headlines and other content on a landing page or on social media. All you have to do is provide the variables you want tested and they’ll take care of the implementation.

Other activities include:

• researching on customers, competitors, and products
• compiling data and statistics
• looking out for potential vendors and their offers
• checking for the latest deals and schemes
• interpreting data from search queries

Where to hire a virtual assistant for market research

With the numerous benefits outlined, it makes sense for any organisation to offload their market research to virtual assistants. You may be a start-up or a small-medium enterprise but you are sure to gain much from the services of a VA.

If you’re hiring a virtual assistant for market research, let us at Remote Workmate be of service. We offer offshore staffing solutions to clients like you from all over the world. Not only do we have an existing candidate pool but we screen new prospects too.